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- L3Harris Technologies is tasked with overhauling a Boeing 747 for interim Air Force One.
- President Donald Trump seeks the plane by fall due to delays in Boeing's latest Air Force One.
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government has tapped defense contractor L3Harris Technologies to overhaul a Boeing 747 formerly used by the Qatari government for use as an interim Air Force One, a source told Reuters.
President Donald Trump, frustrated by repeated delays on Boeing's Air Force One, wants to have the plane available for use as early as the fall, the Wall Street Journal said, which first reported the plan.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while L3Harris declined to comment.
In mid-February, Trump expressed his displeasure with the U.S. planemaker but ruled out rival Airbus as an alternative. Around the same time, he toured a 12-year-old 747-8 aircraft near his Florida vacation home to better understand the presidential carrier.
The Wall Street Journal report said the White House and military officials had also discussed suing Boeing or cancelling the contract for the new planes before Trump's inauguration in mid-January.
A separate source told Reuters that Trump had raised the delay in his first call with Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg last fall.
Ortberg told Reuters in February that Trump adviser Elon Musk, the head of its space business rival SpaceX, is "helping us a lot" in navigating through delays in delivering Air Force One.
"Elon Musk is actually helping us a lot in working through the requirements ... so that we can move faster and get the president those airplanes delivered," Ortberg said.
In February, a senior administration official told Reuters the Air Force One program may be further delayed until 2029 or years later due partly to supply chain problems. Boeing has lost more than $2 billion on the $3.9 billion Air Force One program.
Trump has said he is not happy with Boeing due to delays in delivering Air Force One planes, adding his administration might have to "do something else."
Boeing's Air Force One program has been troubled by supply chain issues, high costs, and the complexity of the planes that are intended to be an airborne White House.
L3Harris has been a contractor to Boeing, working on communications systems for the pair of replacement Air Force Ones. The interim jet would serve alongside the current pair of aging Boeing jets.
Contributing: Sameer Manekar and Harshita Meenaktshi
